Goombella is a very smart and sassy female Goomba from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. A second-year co-ed student studying archaeology at the University of Goom[1], she is the first companion to join Mario on his quest. She provides tattle information to Mario about his location or the character who stands in front of him all throughout the game. She wears a helmet with a light with a matching shirt with a red scarf. Goombella's name might be a portmanteau between "Goomba" and the female name "Bella", short for "Isabella". It may also be a reference to portobella mushrooms. Also, "bella" is an existing adjective in Spanish and Italian, meaning "beautiful" and "good appealing", respectfully.

When Mario arrives at Rogueport at the beginning of the game, he sees a Goomba girl being attacked by Lord Crump. Mario helps her and defeats Lord Crump. Goombella, a second-year[1] student at the University of Goom, thanks Mario, kisses him, and joins his party. She possesses very similar abilities to Goombario from the original Paper Mario, as they have almost identical moves in battle and on the field.

Goombella reading the Tattle Log.

Her Tattle ability gives the player mostly helpful information on places, people, enemies, etc. Like Goombario's summaries, Goombella inserts her own little opinions in her descriptions, some of which are humorous. For example, she shows signs of resentment upon reading the "underlings of underlings" comment her book says regarding Goombas, comments about being jealous of a Paragoomba's wings, and points out that it's nice to have access to a bathroom now and then (that's a field-only one, stated in the Glitz Pit's major league locker room, where the bathroom is always occupied). Also in the final chapter near the last two rooms, she stops helping because she can't think of anything else to say.

Goombella also has a tendency to break the fourth wall. For example, in Glitzville, she mentions how far Cheep-Cheeps have come since Super Mario Bros., and in Twilight Town she says that if there weren't people like the gatekeeper in every town, games would be beaten too easily. At both times, she stops abruptly after she says the comment, seeming to point out that game characters know about the fourth wall, but aren't supposed to talk about it.

At the end of the game, Goombella writes an e-mail to Mario, explaining what happened with herself and her friends. She starts to tell Mario something else, but then changes her mind and keeps her secret. Goombella becomes Professor Frankly's assistant at the end.

Despite not appearing in this game, Goombella is mentioned in Paper Mario: Sticker Star when Mario searches the junk yard in Shy Guy Jungle before clearing it with a vacuum or goat thing. He can find a paper written by her. She has been researching the Chomp Ruins during the events of the game, but isn't seen in the ruins nor anywhere else in the game, presuming she had finished the research or left the paper behind. The paper says:

"Observations on the Ancient Civilization of the Chomp Ruins"University of GoomGoombella

Card Type: RareCard Description: It's Goombella from the last Paper Mario adventure. This extra-spunky university student knew it all.How to Obtain the Card: The Duel of 100 in Sammer's Kingdom needs to be completed in order to obtain all Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door partner cards from King Sammer.

A female archaeology student at the University of Goom, Goombella can be recognized by her ponytail and pith helmet that features a light that aids her archeological aspirations. With her wealth of knowledge, Goombella serves as Mario's tour guide and assists throughout his adventures.

Goombella is a student of archaeology at the University of Goom, studying under Prof. Frankly. She's a super-bright gal and is a useful guide in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Despite being easily spooked by ghosts and spiders, she's doing her best to help in your adventure.

Goombella, an archaeology student at the University of Goom, is significantly smarter (and sassier) than your average Goomba. In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, she'll gladly give Mario a bit of background info about pretty much anything they come across. She's the perfect guide...when she's not being startled by monsters and spiders.